War Games

 War Games

Living in the area where the ‘action’ takes place, it is much easier to see what YHVH is speaking (see Hab. 2:2).  As they say, ‘action speaks louder than words’.  In the past, I have mentioned the prophet Habakkuk several times, because it is through this prophet that YHVH exhibits the realities that we are currently experiencing.  The barrage of rockets that were launched toward many parts of Israel the night before last was quite extraordinary, to say the least, as was our personal experience. The leadership of the Iranian regime had been boasting for days about attacking Israel.

On the ‘ominous’ night we went to bed at around 11:00 P.M. About an hour later we woke up to a phone call from praying friends in the States, who informed us that Iran had begun its attack against us and that they (the friends) were on their knees praying.  In the course of our short conversation, I told them that we had been informed by the Americans two days beforehand, about the impending attack.  This was going to be a retaliatory action on the part of Iran to save face or honor, as usually is the case, for Israel having eliminated in Syria one of their top commanders.  We hung up and went back to sleep. However, the night sounds of jet activity was different than it had been during the previous 6 months. So I lay for a while listening to a constant roaring sound, that was very high up in the air. At the same time, there were sounds of jets flying lower - coming and going. After praying for a little while I too, like Rimona, fell asleep. At about 6 A.M, I woke up to complete silence; just the chirping of birds and an occasional car.   It seemed a little eerie and puzzling. Was (is) this the calm before the storm? 

Reading the news in the morning I was not surprised at the success that we had shooting down drones, and all the different types of rockets that were hurled at us. Interestingly, we were helped not only by the US but also by England and France. 

One word came to my mind, after reading the news - “exercise”.  Then a few things that I heard and read in previous days started to make sense. Here are some of these puzzle pieces: Jordan invited Britain to help protect itself, American aircraft were maneuvering into position, top American military leaders visited Israel, Biden warned us to not retaliate in the wake of an Iranian attack, etc. This had turned out to be a well-planned military exercise, which Iran and its proxies took part in, turning out to be a win-win situation for (almost) all the participants. Iran saved its face; the Americans and their allies proved to Russia and China the effectiveness of their defensive weapons and their capabilities to ward off any attack launched by the latter against the Western nations (NATO) and their allies, and Biden still managed to keep his balancing act.   

“Jerusalem Post headlines: Iran attacks Israel: No drones, cruise missiles breached Israeli airspace… Seven-year-old girl from Bedouin village seriously wounded in Iranian attack. • US, Israel, UK, Jordan intercept Iranian projectiles JP April 14^th France was also included in the article saving Israel.”

The question is, what do we, Israel, stand to gain from this exercise?  Maybe a green light to go into Rafa and finish with Hamas?  More defensive weapons? Perhaps to feel more secure under the US, England, and France’s umbrella? Meanwhile, the hostages still remain in Gaza, Hamas’s leadership (and Qatar) still lead the negotiations, Hezbollah is still on our border, demonstrations, division, and disunity prevail in our government and population, the two-state solution still hangs over our head, along with anti-Israel demonstrations in many nations, including those of our allies.

Thankfully, the Almighty One of Israel knows the end from the beginning and never loses control. He remains sovereign and faithful over all that is going on and will use it to accomplish His will on earth as it is in heaven.